Meet the 2019 RecSports Hall of Honor Inductees
Established in 2017 as part of the department’s Centennial Celebration, the RecSports Hall of Honor recognizes influential alumni, staff, supporters, and athletes who have had a significant impact on Recreational Sports throughout its long history.
Gordon Appleman (BA ‘59)
As a member of Sigma Alpha Mu in the last 1950s, Gordon Appleman was known for his role as a senior intramural manager. His athletic skills enabled him to compete in several intramural sports including football, basketball, and softball. He also served as an intramural manager and earned his “T” Association letter sweater after completing the Intramural Manager Program. He proudly continued to wear the letter sweater decades later.
After leaving UT, Gordon accepted RecSports’ invitation to become a founding member of the RecSports Leadership Team which formed in 2008. As a valued member he provided guidance and support to the department, and after leaving the committee continued to offer his support. Most notably, he assisted with the RecSports Centennial Celebration in 2017.
Gordon has also received numerous alumni awards, including the Texas Exes Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2001 and the College of Liberal Arts Pro Bene Meritis Award in 2000. Gordon was also named one of UT’s 125 Extraordinary Exes during the Texas Exes 125th anniversary in 2010.
Barbara Brimi
Barbara Brimi began a 31-year career with The University of Texas at Austin in 1970, trading her Tennessee orange for the burnt orange of Texas to join the staff at RecSports as manager of the Women’s Intramural Sports program. She became a full-time assistant director in 1977 and was promoted to associate director for the Programs area in 1990. Working primarily with intramurals and sport clubs, she was able to pursue her true passion of influencing student success. She forged a lasting legacy as a mentor for not only students but fellow staff members who looked up to her for guidance and counsel.
Barbara will forever be known as a trailblazer for women in the profession of campus recreation in part by becoming one of the first women to join the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA). Her leadership skills were soon recognized and for decades she served on various NIRSA boards and committees until her retirement in 2001. As testament to her dedication to the field of campus recreation a NIRSA scholarship was named in her honor.
In 2001, Barbara returned to Tennessee to work for South College in student services. She passed away in 2015.
Robert G. Childress (BA ’73 M.Ed. ‘76)
Bob Childress began his 47-year career at RecSports as an undergraduate in 1969 when he officiated intramural games, making him the longest-tenured employee of RecSports at retirement in 2016.
Throughout his time as a UT undergraduate and graduate student Bob also participated in a variety of sports including football, volleyball, basketball, softball, and track. He was a member of numerous All-Intramural teams, named Best All-Around Athlete for 1971–72 his junior year, and won the Arno Nowotny Sportsmanship Award his senior year.
After earning a Master’s in Education-Kinesiology in 1976, Bob was hired by RecSports Director Betty A. Thompson. He took on many duties including working in the gym store and the fitness area before taking on the responsibility of developing and managing the Intramural Sports program. He held that position for almost three decades, a role he cherished for the opportunity it afforded him to help create lifelong memories for thousands of students.
In 2001, with Tom Dison at the helm of RecSports, Bob transitioned into the development area where he led the efforts to create the Friends of RecSports program to reconnect with past participants and staff to return as supporters.
In 2019 the Robert G. Childress Endowed Scholarship was created to honor his dedication and service to Recreational Sports. The award is given annually to benefit students who, like Bob himself, worked as a student for RecSports.
Drs. William & Isabella Cunningham
For over 30 years, RecSports has been fortunate to have received the unwavering support of Drs. William and Isabella Cunningham.
Dr. William Cunningham served as president of The University of Texas at Austin from 1985–92 and served as chancellor of The University of Texas System from 1992–2000. He holds the James L. Bayless Chair for Free Enterprise at the McCombs School of Business. Dr. Isabella Cunningham is currently the Ernest A. Sharpe Centennial Professor in Communication atthe Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations in the Moody College of Communication.
The couple has played a unique role helping RecSports expand and enhance its facilities, programs and services on the UT campus. As a member of the Recreational Sports Committee Isabella helped to advise the department on policies, fees, and new initiatives and supported new endeavors that led to new directions for RecSports to explore and implement. As UT president, William supported RecSports through the construction of the Recreational Sports Center and the Gregory Gym renovation project.
Beyond the Forty Acres they both serve on various boards and commissions. Isabella was recently appointed to the Sunset Commission for the State of Texas. William serves on several public corporate boards including Southwest Airlines and Lincoln Financial.
Cindy Hopson Downs (BBA ‘80)
Cindy Hopson Downs found her place with RecSports playing intramurals with Pi Beta Phi Sorority. She was an athletic force competing in several sports including volleyball, tennis, softball, table tennis, flag football, water polo, and track and field. Her success in intramurals inspired her to expand her involvement with intramurals and with RecSports. As a result, she began working as a volleyball official, an intramural supervisor, and a recreational sports specialist.
Cindy also served as a member of both the Intramural Sports Council and the Recreational Sports Committee. Fittingly she also received the 1977–78 C.J. Alderson Sportsmanship Award, named after Curtis Jackson “Shorty” Alderson, himself a UT alum, who served as a coach and professor from 1912–70 and was known as the “Voice of Memorial Stadium.”
Thomas McGarity (JD, ‘74)
As a Texas Law student in the 1970s, Thomas McGarity was recruited by Charles Alan Wright (namesake of the Charles Alan Wright Fields at the Berry M. Whitaker Sports Complex) to join the law school’s Legal Eagles intramural football team. Although Thomas is best known for his time as a student playing for the Legal Eagles flag football team, after graduating from law school he joined the faculty and began assisting Coach Wright as a coach for the team. With adjacent offices on the fourth floor of Townes Hall the pair would often huddle to discuss strategy and plays. Thomas eventually succeeded Coach Wright as head coach when his colleague and mentor retired in the mid-1990s.
While a law student, Thomas helped to represent Texas Law in the National Law School Softball Tournament on four occasions and was named to the All-Intramural softball team. Thomas played on teams other than the Legal Eagles. He played with the Aardvarks, the Attractions, the Bedrock Bombers, and the Dominicans. He also coached a women’s softball team for four years, leading the team to win two championships.
Thomas played an important role on the RecSports Leadership Team, where he led efforts to raise funds for the renovation of the Wright-Whitaker Sports Complex, which was named the Charles Alan Wright Fields at the Berry M. Whitaker Sports Complex, in honor of his mentor, Coach Wright.
Thomas is currently a professor at Texas Law.
Michael Tomsu (BA ’82, MBA ’86, JD ‘86)
As an undergrad Michael Tomsu participated in six open-division intramural football teams and as a law student played on three national championship teams with the Legal Eagles. He also played basketball and softball and worked as an intramural official, winning Intramural Official of the Year in 1982.
Off the fields and courts, Michael became a member of the Recreational Sports Committee as a student representative. While serving in that capacity he helped the committee receive approval for funds to build the Recreational Sports Center.
Michael was a founding member of RecSports Leadership Team which formed in 2008, providing valuable guidance and support to the department.
Michael resides in the Austin area and is a partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP specializing in matters of energy and regulation. Michael also serves on the faculty at Texas Law as an Adjunct Professor.
Lewis Wright IV (BBA ‘86)
Lewis “Sweet Lew” Wright IV was best known for his jump shot on the basketball court which helped The Players win three championships in the 1980s. Those jump shots also contributed to the team’s going undefeated for 30 games in a row.
Lewis was more than a talented basketball player. He played softball, football, and soccer. He captured a softball title in 1982 with the Sidewinders and football championships in 1984 and 1985 with Quiet Storm.
A teammate recalls Lewis reflecting on The Players’ only loss in the 1982–83 playoffs with a comment that “we can’t let that happen again.” The team proceeded to play undefeated for 30 consecutive games over the next three seasons.
After graduating from UT, Lewis opened and operated his own insurance company for 12 years before moving on to work for the Texas Department of Insurance. He resides in Driftwood, Texas, with his family.
The Elite
The Elite earned a reputation as a powerhouse team of women athletes for two decades- the 1970s and 1980s. Coached by Gene Vance, The Elite won titles in both coed and women’s sports including football, basketball, and volleyball. Their team motto, Let’s Have Fun and Win, was indicative of their spirit of friendship. The group became champions on the field as well as friends outside the lines.
Several team members worked for RecSports as officials and intramural supervisors and enjoyed working together setting up for games at Whitaker Fields, hanging out at the field “hut,” and distributing equipment and jerseys at Gregory Gym.
Their alumni include a volleyball coach, a certified health coach, a Physical Education teacher, and the first female captain of The University of Texas Police Department.
The Players
In the early 1980s, a new basketball squad arrived on campus. They were fast, strong and even had their own theme song. They called themselves The Players. The team was formed by two freshmen, Kevin “Slo” Williams and Jerome “Spider” Solomon, who decided on recruiting players for a new six feet and under division.
Their first season record of 7–1, marked by a loss to the Kool Byrds in a controversial playoff game, was eventually redeemed with three consecutive championships.
The founding members intentionally sought out the most skilled players for their championship games. Their selectiveness paid off with The Players achieving a 37–1 record from 1982–85.
Many of the original players were members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Additionally, many team members became lifelong friends.
